Ethos forms the root of ethikos (ἠθικός), meaning “moral, showing moral character”. Used as a noun in the neuter plural form ta ethika (τὰ ἠθικά), used for the study of morals, it is the origin of the modern English word ethics.

Ethos (/ˈiːθɒs/ or US/ˈiːθoʊs/) is a Greek word meaning “character” that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. The Greeks also used this word to refer to the power of music to influence its hearer’s emotions, behaviors, and even morals.[1] Early Greek stories of Orpheus exhibit this idea in a compelling way. The word’s use in rhetoric is closely based on the Greek terminology used by Aristotle in his concept of the three artistic proofs.

The Spartiates (Greek: Σπαρτιάται, “Spartans”) or Homoioi (Greek: Ὅμοιοι, “those who are alike”; sing. homoios) were the males of Sparta known to the Spartans as “peers” or “men of equal status”. From a young age, male Spartiates were trained for battle and put through gruelling challenges intended to craft them into fearless warriors. In battle, they had the reputation of being the best soldiers in Greece, and the strength of Sparta’s hoplite forces let the city become the dominant state in Greece throughout much of the Classical period. Other city-states were reluctant to attack Sparta even though it could muster a force of only about 8000 Spartiates during the zenith of its dominance, such was the reputation of its soldiers.[1]

The word kern is an anglicisation of the Middle Irish word ceithern or ceithrenn meaning a collection of persons, particularly fighting men. An individual member is a ceithernach.[1]The word may derive from a conjectural proto-Celtic word *keternā, ultimately from anIndo-European root meaning a chain.[2] Kern was adopted into English as a term for a Gaelic soldier in mediaeval Ireland and as cateran, meaning Highland marauder, bandit. See Oxford Dictionary of English.

The term 遊俠 yóuxiá, “wandering force”, refers to the way these men solely traveled the land using force (or influence through association with powerful people) to right the wrongs done to the common people and the monarchy if need be. Youxia did not come from any social class in particular. Various historical documents, wuxianovels, and folktales describe them as being princes, government officials, poets, musicians, physicians, professional soldiers, merchants, and butchers. Some were just as handy with a calligraphy brush as others were with swords and spears.

For ten years I have been polishing this sword;Its frosty edge[3]has never been put to the test.Now I am holding it and showing it to you, sir:Is there anyone suffering from injustice?[4]

The word rōnin literally means “wave man”. That, however, is an idiomatic expression that means “vagrant” or “wandering man”, someone who is without a home. The term originated in the Nara and Heian periods, when it referred to a serf who had fled or deserted his master’s land. It then came to be used for a samurai who had no master. (Hence, the term “wave man” illustrating one who is socially adrift.)

The Kanji “浪人” means a “drifter” or a “wanderer”, i.e. “he who drifts/wanders”.

he Khalsa needs to abide by the four restrictions set by Guru Gobind Singh and if a Sikh breaks one of these four restrictions they are excommunicated from the Khalsa Panth and must go ‘pesh’ (get baptized again). Guru Gobind Singh also gave the Khalsa 52 hukams or 52 specific additional guidelines while living in Nanded in 1708[17][18]

According to Crouch, prior to codified chivalry there was the uncodified code of noble conduct that focused on the preudomme. This uncodified code – referred to as the noble habitus – is a term for the environment of behavioural and material expectations generated by all societies and classes.[21] As a modern idea, it was pioneered by the French philosopher/sociologists Pierre Bourdieu and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, even though a precedent exists for the concept as far back as the works of Aristotle.[22] Crouch argues that the habitus on which “the superstructure of chivalry” was built and the preudomme was a part, had been existed long before 1100, while the codified medieval noble conduct only began between 1170 and 1220.[23]

The pre-chivalric noble habitus as discovered by Mills and Gautier are as follows:

Loyalty: It is a practical utility in a warrior nobility. Richard Kaeuper associates loyalty with prowess.[24] The importance of reputation for loyalty in noble conduct is demonstrated in William Marshal biography.[24]

Forbearance: knights’ self-control towards other warriors and at the courts of their lords was a part of the early noble habitus as shown in the Conventum ofHugh de Lusignan in the 1020s.[25] The nobility of mercy and forbearance was well established by the second half of the 12th century long before there was any code of chivalry.[26]

Hardihood: The quality of hardy aligns itself with forbearance and loyalty in being one of the military virtues of the preudomme. According to Philip de Navarra, a mature nobleman should have acquired hardiness as part of his moral virtues. Geoffrey de Charny also stressed on the masculine respectability of hardiness in the light of religious feeling of the contemptus mundi.[27]

Largesse or Liberality: generosity was part of a noble quantity. According to Alan of Lille, largesse was not just a simple matter of giving away what he had, but “Largitas in a man caused him to set no store on greed or gifts, and to have nothing but contempt for bribes.”[28]

The davidic ethic: It is the strongest qualities of preudomme derived by clerics from Biblical tradition. Originally it was a set of expectations of good rulership articulated by the Frankish church which involved the rightful authority based on protection for the weak and helpless (in particular the Church), respect for widows and orphans, and opposition to the cruel and unjust.[29] The core of Davidic ethic is benevolence of the strong toward the weak.[30]

Honor: honor was what was achieved by living up to the ideal of the preudomme and pursuing the qualities and behavior listed above.[31] The loss of honor is an humiliation to a man’s standing and is worse than death. Bertran de Born said: “For myself I prefer to hold a little piece of land in onor, than to hold a great empire with dishonor”.[31

The 52 Hukams are a set of instruction in Sikhism set by Guru Gobind Singh in Nanded, Maharashtra, India in 1708.[1][2] These edicts sum up the ideal way of life of the Khalsa and serve as a code of conduct for the Khalsa Panth. Members of the Khalsa (baptized Sikhs) aim to follow all the 52 edicts though the authenticity and origin of Hukams can be questioned and they seem to be made in more modern times as the style of Punjab is quite modern but many of them come from older writings such asBhai Nand Lal‘s Tankanama.

The kshatriya caste constituted an aristocracy but were not always necessarily wealthy. Kings usually belonged to this caste and it was considered their duty (dharma) to acquire a knowledge of weapons in addition to cultivating their aptitude for command and good governance. The science of weaponry (dhanurveda) was one of the 13 branches of learning which every educated kshatriya male was expected to study. Both the king’s suite and the army were naturally recruited from among this caste but not every kshatriya exercised a military calling. Many kshatriya were authorised to take up a craft or trade rather than gaining their living as professional warriors. These families still retained the privileges accorded to their caste however, which included special forms of marriage which were their prerogative. In one of these, the man was allowed to carry off the woman for his bride, and the other consisted of a competition for a bride in which the chief event was an archery contest. Arjuna,Rama and Siddhartha Gautama all won their consorts in such tournaments.[11]